Late that night, Dorian contacted me through our communication crystal.
"Selene, I'm tied up at the border. Can you ask Beta Elias to send me the trade records from the Silverfang Pack?"
I closed my eyes.
"It's past midnight."
My voice was rough with exhaustion.
"I had a fever yesterday. If you refuse to care about your own pup, then at least stop treating your pregnant mate like a pack servant."
Silence.
"...What?"
Far away, Dorian sat inside Seraphina's woodland lodge while she rested comfortably against his shoulder beside the fireplace.
The coldness in my voice had caught him completely off guard.
"Selene, little wolf, it's important. The pack needs those records."
"Then find them yourself."
I cut him off.
"Or ask one of your warriors."
My voice trembled with restrained anger.
"Why must everything fall on your pregnant mate?"
Months of bitterness finally broke free.
"Or are you trying to lose this pup too?"
"Just like our first one?"
"Selene!"
His voice rose sharply.
But I had no strength left.
Before he could continue, I severed the connection.
What I didn't know was that Dorian remained motionless for a long time.
For the first time, he realized I truly believed he was responsible for our first pup's death.
Guilt crossed his face.
Then regret.
He tried contacting me again.
I ignored every request.
The following morning, several rare Moon Roses were delivered to my chambers.
His apology.
I ordered the servants to throw them into the fire.
Later that morning, I returned to Ravenshield Hall.
Without hesitation, I signed the petition to dissolve our mate bond.
When the final seal was placed upon the parchment, I instructed Lyra to send a copy directly to Seraphina's woodland lodge.
The Moonstone Valley.
My family's ancestral land.
The home that had once belonged to me.
Five years of devotion.
Five years of sacrifice.
Now I was finally leaving it behind.
I had only just returned to my chambers when someone knocked.
Opening the door, I found Seraphina standing outside.
Around her wrist gleamed a silver moonstone bracelet.
The moment I saw it, she smiled knowingly.
"You recognize it."
She slowly lifted her arm.
My chest tightened.
Of course I recognized it.
It had been part of the ceremonial gift my father presented to Dorian and me after our mating ceremony.
A Ravenfall heirloom.
Engraved with my father's crest.
Years ago, Dorian told me it had been lost during a rogue attack.
I had mourned it for days.
Now I knew exactly where it had gone.
"What do you want?"
Instead of answering, Seraphina walked into the room without permission.
She slowly examined everything around her.
"So plain."
She smiled.
"Just like you."
Her eyes settled on me.
"No wonder Dorian grew tired of you."
She looked around again.
"When I become Luna, everything here will be replaced."
To her disappointment, I showed almost no reaction.
My thumb lightly brushed the place where my mate ring had once rested.
My heart was strangely calm.
She frowned.
I smiled instead.
"Replacing other people."
She froze.
"That's what you've always been good at."
I drew a slow breath.
"My home."
"My mate."
"My family's heirloom."
My gaze drifted briefly toward her swollen belly.
"What comes next?"
I tilted my head slightly.
"Pretending that pup is truly his?"
The color drained from her face.
Then fury replaced it.
"So what if those things were once yours?"
She snapped.
"They belong to me now."
Her hand instinctively covered her stomach.
"My pup will become Blackthorn's future Alpha."
"Unlike yours."
"Your child will grow up without a father."
I almost laughed.
"Really?"
My voice remained calm.
"You truly believe a wolf as ambitious as Dorian would abandon his own heir for anyone?"
Her expression stiffened.
"And honestly, Seraphina..."
"You can have him."
I shrugged.
"A coward who lies to everyone isn't worth fighting over."
Her eyes widened.
I continued before she could answer.
"Do you know why the former Alpha trusted me with the pack's affairs instead of his own son?"
Silence.
I answered for her.
"Because Dorian couldn't manage them."
For years I balanced the pack's stores.
Negotiated with neighboring Alphas.
Settled disputes.
Prepared winter supplies.
While Dorian carried the title, I carried the burden.
I looked directly into her eyes.
"Who cared for the widowed she-wolves after every border battle?"
"Who organized patrols whenever rogues appeared?"
"Who kept Blackthorn alive?"
The answer was obvious.
Me.
"When I leave..."
"Every responsibility becomes yours."
I smiled faintly.
"I wish you luck."
For the first time, panic flashed across her face.
Dorian had promised her the position of Luna.
He had never told her what that position truly required.
"I'd rather free myself from people like you than waste another day living this lie."
I rested both hands over my stomach.
Then I turned to leave.
Seraphina's expression twisted with rage.
"What are you planning?"
She stepped forward.
"You think I believe you're giving him up so easily?"
Without warning, she seized my hair.
Pain shot across my scalp.
"You miserable wolf!"
She yanked harder.
"What did you say to Dorian last night?"
Her voice trembled with fury.
"Why did he leave me before dawn?"
I struggled to pull away.
She shoved me with all her strength.
Everything happened in an instant.
My foot slipped across the polished stone floor.
Then I fell.
Pain exploded through my abdomen.
For one terrible moment, I couldn't breathe.
Then I saw it.
Blood.
Dark red against the stone.
My vision blurred.
No.
Please...
Not again.
The memory of losing my first pup flooded back.
I looked up.
Seraphina stood frozen.
Terror filled her face.
Then she turned and fled.
Coward.
Monster.
I wrapped both arms around my stomach.
"Help!"
My voice broke.
"Please..."
"Save my pup!"
I screamed until my throat burned.
"Someone..."
"Help me!"
Shaking uncontrollably, I reached for my communication crystal.
I called Dorian.
The connection formed immediately.
For my pup, I was willing to beg.
"Dorian..."
He never let me finish.
"You caused enough trouble yesterday."
His voice was cold.
"And now you've skipped the elders' council as well?"
"I'm busy fixing the problems you created."
The crystal went dark.
He had ended the call.
I stared at it in disbelief.
The wolf I had loved all my life had abandoned me once again.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor.
"My Lady!"
An elderly servant rushed into the chamber.
The moment he saw the blood, his face turned white.
"Moon Goddess..."
He shouted toward the doorway.
"Fetch the healers!"
"Inform the Alpha immediately!"
The room began to spin.
Voices faded into the distance.
"My Lady, stay with us!"
"Please don't close your eyes!"
I tried.
I truly tried.
But the pain swallowed everything.
Darkness slowly consumed my vision.
Just before unconsciousness claimed me, one final thought echoed through my mind.
If I lose this pup...
I will stand before the Council of Alphas myself.
I will sever my mate bond.
And I will erase Dorian Blackthorne from my life forever.
